Gofukuya
by Starfire-is-not-a-wimp
Summary: Japanese for kimono shop. Kimonos have a history of weaving stories. What does it have to share with Starfire and Raven? PostTokyo oneshot


**Never have I known that my Japanese phrase books would come in handy…**

Note: The italics in parenthesis are translations of what is being said. I thank my Japanese phrase books dearly for it. They became my good friends during this. They are also exact translations from the books, so if it sounds weird and ridiculous, it's because sometimes I couldn't find what I wanted to exactly say. So, I had to use something close to it.

Warning: Some of this can get REALLY sappy (in an unromantic way), hopefully it isn't too bad.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans and bla bla bla…

Dedication: All you RobinandStarfire shriners out there, especially the ones on the Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo movie discussion thread. Without you guys, I would never have thought about writing this.

_Gofukuya  
Summery: Kimonos have a history of weaving stories. What does it have to share with Starfire and Raven? Post-Tokyo fic_

"Wow, this isn't what I was expecting," Raven commented, wandering into the store. Starfire, insisting that she and Raven explore, came to a store that she had passed earlier.

"Is it not the most charming little shop?" Starfire awed as she waltzed in. "We simply must try something on!"

Raven sent a quick glance at the store clerk. He seemed unfazed by his two new customers. "Do you think it's okay for us to?" Raven asked. "Kimonos are delicate…and these look expensive," she shuddered at the last part.

"It should not be," Starfire called behind her shoulder, continuing into the store and toward the register. She gave the man a friendly smile. "Sumimasen ga goshidō gobentatsu o tamawarimasu yō, onegai itashimasu. _(Excuse me but I hope that you will favor me with your guidance and advice)_." The man stared dumbfounded at her ability to speak fluent Japanese, but willingly answered her pleasantly.

Raven blocked out the friend conversation Starfire was making with the elderly clerk in his native language. Taking a few steps out of the doorway, Raven took in her surroundings. The kimono shop, just as Starfire had said, was quaint, small, and traditional. The only selection that Raven could see was neatly folded into little shelves built into the wall. Right next to the shelves, she noticed a curtained off area, no doubt a changing room, and a similar one behind the counter. The ancient, but polished looking, wooden walls were decorated with carvings of kanji and scenery showing the springtime beauty of nature. The soft, dim lighting set a homey and comfortable feeling.

Starfire bowed slightly. "Arigato _(Thank you)_," she and floated over to Raven. "Come my friend, let us immerse ourselves within this beautiful clothing," she said gleefully, grabbing Raven's hand.

"Starfire," Raven started as she stumbled beside her gliding friend. She hesitated before continuing, choosing her words carefully. "Why are we doing this?"

"Well…we have not spent any time together since arriving in Tokyo because I have been exclusively with…" she trailed off, her face reddening. She gulped and continued, a smile slowly forming on her face, "Raven, you are one of my dearest friends and…I want you to know that nothing will get in the way of that!"

The girls stopped before the kimono collection. Starfire soared up higher to look at what the shelves above had to offer.

Raven was shocked, her mind still reveling over what Starfire had just told her. Never had she heard kinder words said to her. Soon her wide eyes softened and her gaping mouth eased into warm smile. Laughing quietly to herself, Raven took a step closer to the shelves.

The girls dedicated themselves to their search, rejecting kimono after kimono. Even though they were quite taken by the extensive detail on them, nothing seemed to strike either of them as the "right" one. From lily pads to birds, dragons, and even solid or single colored kimonos, the girls' once eager spirits were slowly tiring.

That is until they had both hit a shelf each, and drawing out the dress, they both held it up for the other to see. At a first glance, their breaths were taken away. Starfire dropped to the floor and held the kimono against Raven, and Raven likewise. A spark was shot down their spines and both were never so sure of anything.

Trading kimonos, Raven nodded Starfire in the direction of the changing room. Starfire gave her a nervous smile before entering. They seemed to be engaged in a silent conversation where everything was understood without a single word uttered or mind connection being established.

Moments later, Starfire emerged from the dressing room, tightly clutching the kimono closed with one hand. "Um, Raven, can you hand me the obi? It is hanging out of the shelf," Starfire asked, pointing to the shelves for emphasis. Scrunching her face in confusion, Raven turned back towards the shelves and pulled out a long, thick ribbon.

"This?" Raven questioned for clarification. With her kimono draped over her arm, Raven held the sash across her body, inspecting it. Starfire nodded her head.

"Mr. Seto has agreed to tie them around us," Starfire said, and as if on cue the old man behind the counter shuffled over to Starfire. First taking the obi from Raven, he proceeded to tie it just above Starfire's waist. Lifting her hair up, Raven watched the short but perpetually smiling clerk expertly fold and twist the sash. Giving it a final tug, making Starfire lurch forward a bit, he patted the square knot against her back.

An excited smile crossed Starfire's face as she examined herself, lifting her arms up and twirling around. Giggling, she asked Raven, "What do you think?!"

Raven stared, amused at her joyful friend. "It looks great." Starfire whirled around, her face radiant. The soft green of the kimono challenged her bright eyes, and the farther the kimono went down, the lighter the tone became. The effect brought attention to the tall and proud cherry blossom tree running up the side of the kimono, branching off in the front and back. The obi tied around her body was a crisscrossing weaved pattern of pink. Luscious green leaves sprouted off the branches, vacant of blossoms. Raining down the kimono were the sakura petals floating on invisible winds.

More then satisfied with her look, "Your turn!" she exclaimed, pulling Raven toward the dressing room. Raven's heart thumped crazily as Starfire gave her a final shove into the room. Lightly taking off from the floor, Starfire grabbed the sash stuffed in the back of the empty shelf.

"Do I really have-"

"Yes, Raven, you must," Starfire ordered, shaking her head, "You will not regret it."

Rustling was heard behind the curtain, and just as Starfire landed on the floor, out from behind the curtain burst Raven, clutching the kimono around her. With a critical eye, Starfire looked Raven up and down, and what Raven guessed was contentment, Starfire grinned and held a thumbs-up to Raven and the pale yellow obi up to Mr. Seto. "Dōzo misete kudasi _(Please show)_," she requested to him. The old man nodded his head jubilantly; it seemed nothing could bring this guy down.

This obi was thicker and wider then Starfire's and took more space on Raven's small form. Walking behind her, Starfire wrapped the obi flatly around. She leaned into Raven's ear and whispered, "You look gorgeous."

Again, Raven froze, not used to this kind of attention. She almost didn't want this moment to end, but at the same time knew it had to. She knew it had to, but knew that there would be more moments like this to come. "Thanks Starfire," she whispered back.

Frowning in concentration, Starfire set to work the sash into the same knot as her own. Biting her lip, she tried to keep up with the clerk's direction, having him point things out she didn't understand.

Raven had been standing stock still for what felt like minutes, until she heard Starfire sigh, exhausted. "We are just about done."

"Just don't pull your kind of hard."

Starfire chuckled, "I will not, I promise," giving the obi one final tug. She stepped back and wiped her brow, watching Raven look over her new attire curiously. The pale yellow color of the obi matched the collar of the kimono and the moon shining prominently just below Raven's right shoulder. Bright stars hung in the air. The royal navy blue-purple color of the rest of the kimono painted a dreamy and tranquil dusk. Dark, but not lost in the shadows. "Wow…"Raven muttered.

Starfire stepped further away from Raven, her hands clasped in awe and happiness. "You do not regret it now!" she exclaimed, laughing. Her back was almost up against the curtain-drawn window. The shop keeper jumped and scurried over to the window and pulled the curtains back. Sunlight flooded into the once dim room.

"This has been…great, Starfire"

Their smiles grew warm. "I was just thinking the same thing."

Seeing as the girls went their separate way, the boys decided to take their own route together, too. After aimlessly walking around Tokyo, running from the paparazzi and fan girls, and signing way to many autographs for their hands' own good, they settled for the video game arcade. Taking charge, Robin led them to the massive building he and Starfire went to earlier, all the while pondering if their gallivanting around Tokyo would be considered a "date".

Once at the arcade, and a few hands at the dance dance revolution type game, Robin had determined two things: it wasn't as easy as Starfire made it out to be and she _had_ to have played it before, either on earth or Tamaran because there was no way she was that natural at it. Feeling generally overwhelmed by their Japanese arcade experience, the boys left a little disoriented. Claiming he needed some fresh air and a walk, Robin left Cyborg and Beastboy to the karaoke club that Beastboy eagerly wanted to return to.

Robin had _claimed_ he needed a walk, but really all that thinking about Starfire got him to wonder what she and Raven were doing at the moment, where they were, who they were with, etc, etc. Robin had one solution to his problem; he decided to, well, pinpoint her exact location.

Following the two blinking on his communicator and the signs and maps in his guide book, Robin found himself getting more out of his walk then he bargained for. Many autographs and seemingly undecipherable street signs later, Robin found himself on a quiet street overlooking a park. His mind reeling and out of breath, he guessed he was somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Wishing he could get some water, Robin looked at the door to the shop where his communicator had pointed to. He had to fight the urge to break it down and beat it into a million pieces. His frazzled mind had it with all these Japanese characters. Stiffly he reached for his guidebook, flipping through the section of various shops. Finding the kanji that matched up, Robin muttered the pronunciation.

"Go…fuku…" he paused after that last bit. Looking from the store to the book and back, he wondered what kind of place Starfire and Raven had gotten themselves into. Suddenly, the quietness of the street gave him the creeps.

Just as he was started to reach for the door, he heard something from within the shop. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the curtain draw back from the front window. Hastily sliding over to see what was happening inside, he could help but stare, his mouth hanging wide open.

The sudden brightness coming through the window blinded Raven. As soon as she adjusted, she was taken a back by the sight that greeted her outside the window. "Um, Starfire, I think Mr. Seto has another customer."

Confused, wondering what Raven could possibly mean, Starfire turned around to look out the window. Yet as soon as she did a blush quickly spread across her cheeks, her eyes refused to tear away from the person staring directly back at her. None other than her new boyfriend, Robin.

**Memoirs of a Geisha pwns. Plain and simple. I thank Arthur Golden for his masterpiece.**

**I hope you all enjoyed!**


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